NORAD tracks Santa on Windows 8

There was a time, when my children were small, when Christmas Eve also became the time to track Santa's progress on the Internet. We were living in the UK, and in the 12 hours before Christmas arrived, we could see Santa's progress across Australia and Asia, thanks to the NORAD Santa-tracker website. And as soon as Santa made it to Moscow, it was always bed-time (at a reasonable time of 8pm).

Of course, now they're older they have less interest in Santa's actual progress, and much more interest in the actual contents of the Santa sack

But if you have younger children, then you might want to know about the "NORAD Tracks Santa" app for Windows 8. In the run up to Christmas Eve you can get ready for the tracking, and then on Christmas Eve you can see Santa's progress as he heads towards, and then away from Australia. (And use the 'As soon as Santa gets to NZ, it's bed time" trick). Given that we're so close to the start of his journey, it will probably be most exciting for children who have friends in Europe and America, to see Santa's progress towards them. In face, what a great way of filling the time from when they wake up at 5am to when they are allowed to open their presents at a more humane time.

The app includes video of Santa's progress in real-time, games, and stories along the way of his journey.